Chapter
12:
Early Adulthood
(24 34 Years)
Major
Concepts in the Study of Adulthood
Social roles are
a set of behaviors that have some socially agreed-upon functions and for which
there exists an accepted code of norms, such as the role of teacher, child, or
minister
Life course
refers to the integration and sequencing of phases of work and family life over
time
A trajectory is
the path of ones life experiences in a specific domain, particularly work and
family life
A transition is
the beginning or ending of an event or relationship
Social clock or
the age norms and age expectation that operate as prods and brakes upon
behavior, in some instances hastening behavior and in some instances delaying it
Figure 12.1
A Hypothetical life Course
Fulfillment Theories
Competence the exercise of skill and intelligence in the completion
of tasks; the sense that one is capable of exercising mastery over ones
environment
Self-Acceptance an essential component of continued growth is to
experience and accept the authentic self
Self-Actualization a motive that urges the person to make optimal use
of his or her full potential, to become a more effective, creative participant
in daily life
Figure 12.2
Maslows Hierarchy of Needs
Exploring
Intimate Relationships: Readiness to Marry & Selection of a Partner
The period of
early adulthood is a time when men and women explore the possibility of forming
relationships that combine emotional closeness, shared interests, a shared
vision of the future, and sexual intimacy
It is important
to recognize that many forms of intimate relationships in addition to marriage
are being established during early adulthood, including serious dating,
cohabitation with or without the intention of marriage, and commitments between
gay and lesbian couples
Roughly 100
years of social science research has established that satisfaction in the
relationship of marriage contributes significantly to psychological well-being,
including a greater sense of social integration, and protection from other life
stressors
The main change
in the marriage pattern has been that more young adults postpone marriage until
the end of their 20s
Delaying the age
at marriage is related to several other social trends, including having children
at a later age, smaller projected family size, and therefore fewer years devoted
to childrearing
Beyond the
desire to marry, an important factor is the readiness of the two individuals for
a long-term commitment
Work on identity
must be far enough along so that the possibility of a deep, emotional
involvement with another person will be regarded as exciting rather than
frightening
Recent studies
find that early and later adolescents are likely to be thinking about intimacy
issues long before their work on identity is completed
School
enrollment as well as educational attainment have important links to
relationship commitment
In the U.S. and
other individualistic cultures, most people believe that romantic love is the
central reason for choosing a marriage partner
Men tend to
value youth and physical appearance in a partner more than do women; women value
earning potential and job stability in a partner more than do men
Figure 12.3
The Mate Selection Process in the United States
Case Study: How Love Makes Its Way into a Relationship
Thought
Questions
What does love mean for Dick and Gail? In what ways might love be
different from liking?
How is the relationship between Dick and Gail transformed when love is
mentioned?
What are the qualities of an intimate relationship that you see
illustrated in the case of Dick and Gail? What elements of an intimate
relationship appear to be missing in this relationship?
How does the case illustrate the concept of homogamy? How does the case
illustrate the concepts from social evolutionary theory?
What challenges do you imagine Dick and Gail might face in the first few
years of marriage? What resources might help them cope with these challenges?
Exploring
Intimate Relationships: Cohabitation
Cohabitation
rather than marriage has become a common expression of a committed relationship
Research shows
that those couples who have cohabited before marriage are more likely to divorce
than those who have not
In recent
cohorts, couples who have married after cohabitation and those who never
cohabitated before marriage are equally stable, or, perhaps one might say,
equally unstable
Six types of cohabitating relationships
Marginal
Prelude to marriage
Stages in the marriage process
Alternative to being single
Alternative to marriage
Indistinguishable from marriage
Exploring Intimate Relationships: Partners of the Same Sex
Gay men and
lesbians are a diverse group with respect to their interests, talents,
educational backgrounds, family backgrounds, careers, and other important
aspects of adult roles
Research has
addressed the impact of coming out to parents or other family members
Homosexual
relationships are often established within a climate of secrecy and social
stigma, especially fears about parental rejection
Gay and lesbian
couples often perceive less social support from family members and seek other
members of the gay or lesbian community to validate and encourage their
relationship
Lesbian and gay
couples who are in a committed relationship tend to give great priority to
maintaining and enhancing their relationship for several reasons
Exploring Intimate Relationships: Adjustment during the Early Years of
Marriage
Communication
and Marital Adjustment
There are many sources of tension in a new marriage. As part of the
adjustment to marriage, the partners must achieve a sense of psychological
commitment to each other
It is reasonable to expect that intimacy and a high level of marital
satisfaction require effective communication and the capacity to cope
effectively with conflict
Communication
and Marital Adjustment (cont.)
Three dimensions of conflict seem especially important in differentiating
happy and distressed marital relationships: amount of negative communication;
coercive escalation; and perceptions of partners conflict resolution style
Communication
styles of men and women
Men and women communicate differently and have different perceptions of
the process, but this may be overstated. Men and women prefer contactful
interactions, rather than controlling interactions
Men tend to be more ambivalent than women about expressing emotions and
withdraw to avoid escalating conflict more than women
Exploring Intimate Relationships: Adjustment in Dual-Earner Marriages
One of the
greatest changes in U.S. families in the second half of the 20th century was the
increase in the number of married women who were employed
It is now
normative for married women, including those with young children, to be in the
labor market
The involvement
of both husband and wife in the labor market requires a redefinition of
traditional family roles and the division of labor
A potential
conflict for dual-earner couples is the relative balance of power and demands
for household labor for the two partners
There are many
benefits to the dual earner arrangement, but the advantages of the dual-earner,
multiple-role lifestyle can be offset when one or both partners experience role
overload
Childbearing: Fertility Rate & Decisions about Childbearing
The average
number of births required for the natural replacement of a population is
estimated at 2.1 per adult woman
Fertility rates
in the United States vary race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status
Decisions about
childbearing are made in the context of other personal and family goals and
commitments
Cultures differ
in the norms and expectations they convey about the value of having children as
well as the appropriate timing and frequency of pregnancies
Decisions to
postpone childbearing are constrained by the biological clock
Childbearing: Dual Roles of Intimate Partner and Parent & The
Decision Not To Have Children
In contrast to
the elation that usually accompanies the anticipation of and preparation for the
newborn, the arrival of the first child often brings a period of stress to the
relationship
The quality of
marital adjustment over the transition to parenthood is closely related to
marital quality before the child was born. Having children did have impact on
marital companionship
As the roles of
mother and father are added to the adults repertoire of relationships, their
own expectations concerning the raising of a child are aroused
Not all couples
choose to have children
Much like
attitudes toward remaining single, attitudes toward a lifestyle in which a
couple chooses not to have children are becoming more accepting
The U.S. culture
continues to be pronatalistic, placing a high value on having children
Figure 12.4
Duration of Joint Husband-Wife Leisure Without Child for Parents and Nonparents
Work: The World of Work
Within the
life-course framework, the occupational career is a major structural facto in
The training
period involves a process of socialization of the new worker. During this time,
the individual must evaluate the match between his or her personal
characteristics and goals.
Four central
components of the work situation are:
Technical skills
Authority relations
Demands and hazards
Interpersonal relationships with co-workers
Work: Poverty and Career Opportunities
Factors limit
the range of occupations open to a given person during the work-search phase,
including educational attainment, ability, and location
Recent policy
changes in the U.S. welfare system have led to a renewed interest in the process
of supporting the transition from welfare to work
The biggest
challenge facing individuals in this transition in the lack of jobs that will
provide the salary and benefits necessary to raise workers out of the poverty
level
Case Study: Jaye Crowe
Thought
Questions
What do you do?
What kinds of people do well in this business?
What do you really like about your job?
What do you dislike?
How can someone get a job like yours?
Career Phases and Individual Development
Three phases of
career development
Early, middle, and late career development
In each phase
career development reflects
Concerns about self
Concerns about career
Concerns about family
Lifestyle: Pace of Life & Social Network
Lifestyle is a
social psychological construct that integrates personality characteristics,
goals, convictions, and inner conflicts with social opportunities and resources
into an organizing pattern of actions and choices
Pace of life, or
the business of life, is shaped by work, family, personality, and environmental
context
As a result of
participation in multiple roles, most people expand their social network during
early adulthood
The contribution
of friendships to personal satisfaction and lifestyle differs widely during this
time with single adults and couples without children typically having more time
for adult friendships than do parents
Lifestyle: Competing Role Demands & Health and Fitness
A source of
tension in adulthood is the competition of role demands
One part of role
learning involves a widening circle of competencies and relationships. Another
part involves balancing the conflicting expectations of simultaneous role
responsibilities
The more
involved one is in the competitive demands of work, the less likely one is to
feel comfortable about spending time away from it
The contemporary
emphasis on health and fitness indicates the importance of lifestyle decisions
for illness prevention and longevity
The Psychosocial Crisis: Intimacy
Intimacy is the
ability to experience an open, supportive, tender relationship with another
person without fear of losing ones own identity in the process of growing
close. The sense of intimacy is usually acquired toward the end of early
adulthood
Mens
interaction styles very from that of women in that men are less intimate than
women
A common context
for the establishment of intimacy is the work setting
The Psychosocial Crisis: Isolation
Isolation is a
crisis resolution in which situational factors or a fragile sense of self leads
a person to remain psychologically distant from others; the state of being alone
Feelings of
loneliness can be separated into three categories: transient, situational, and
chronic
Isolation may be
a cause as well as a consequence of depression
For some people,
the possibility of closeness with another person seriously threatens the sense
of self
Isolation can
also result from situation factors such as moving to a new town, educational or
career decisions, etc.
Isolation can
also be a product of diverging spheres of interest and activity
Enmeshed
relationships, are characterized by overinvolvement in one anothers lives, to
the extent that any change in one family member is met by strong resistance by
the others; individuality is viewed as a threat to the relationship
The Central Process: Mutuality Among Peers
Mutuality refers
to empathetic awareness of one another, understanding of self and other, and the
ability and willingness to regulate ones needs in order to respond to the
needs of ones partner
Mutuality is
strengthened as the two individuals learn to rely on each other and as they
discover that their combined efforts are more effective than their individual
efforts would be
The Prime
Adaptive Ego Quality and Core Pathology
Love is an
emotion characterized by a capacity for mutuality that transcends childhood
dependency
Exclusivity is a
shutting out of others for elitist reasons
Figure 12.5
Sternbergs Triangle of Types of Love
Early Adulthood (24
34 Years)
Applied Topic: Divorce
Factors
contributing to divorce
Age at marriage
Socioeconomic level
Socioemotional development of the partners
Family history of divorce
Coping with divorce
Attachment to former spouse
Coping strategies
Figure 12.6
Probability of First-Marriage Disruption by Duration of marriage and Wifes
Age at Marriage: United States, 1995